Southern U.S. sees spectacular northern lights as aurora goes south

Pennsylvania photographer Jeff Berkes captures the northern lights rarely seen in his state.

While many in the U.S. were watching Monday night football cursing as their favorite teams lost, the northern lights were putting on a spectacular show that people could see as far south as Arkansas, Mississippi and North Carolina, marking the best aurora show in years.

The light show was sparked by a coronal mass ejection from the sun that hit Earth’s magnetosphere at about 2 p.m. ET, SpaceWeather.com reported.

The sun is getting more active as the solar cycle peaks in the summer of 2013, so southerners can expect to see more light shows that people farther north regard as commonplace.

The aurora from the International Space Station on Sep 29. The orbital outpost was passing over the American Midwest. The city lights of Omaha, Des Moines, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Chicago and St. Louis are visible below. NASA

One downside to the pretty light show is that the strong solar blasts can disrupt satellite communications and cause power grid failures. But some would argue a minor disruption to the drudgery of daily life is worth it to see nature’s most beautiful sky show.